By Rubin E. Grant
Late in the fourth quarter of the Class 6A championship football game on Dec. 2, Mountain Brook senior linebacker Trent Wright went down in a pile on the ground at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.
Wright didn’t get up. He had snapped the fibula in his right leg and torn all the ligaments in his ankle.
“I was running to make a tackle and in the pile somebody fell on it,” Wright said. “I was in a lot of pain.”
It turned out to be the final play of Wright’s high school career and, truly, he had left it all on the field. He recorded 10 tackles while trying to bring Mountain Brook its first state championship since the Spartans won back-to-back titles in 1975 and 1976.
Mountain Brook fell 38-17 to Saraland and the next day Wright had surgery that will require three to six months of recovery and rehab.
The pain from the injury stung more than the championship loss because Wright knew the Spartans had played their hearts out.
“It’s another football disappointment to get through, but when we look back at it and think about the journey of how we got there, we’ll see the bright side of what we accomplished,” Wright said. “We were the winningest seniors in Mountain Brook history.”
Mountain Brook’s seniors finished with a 44-10 record in their four seasons, reaching the Class 6A semifinals in 2020 and 2021 and the championship game this season.
Wright, who had been on the varsity since he was a freshman, played a starring role this season. He led the Spartans with 167 tackles while tallying 13.5 tackles for losses and 2.5 sacks.
For his performance, Wright was selected the All-OTM Defensive Player of the Year in voting of Over-the-Mountain coaches.
“It’s a great honor and I love getting selected, but the credit goes to all my teammates and coaches and how helpful they were in my success,” Wright said. “Football is a team sport, and one person can’t do it by himself. They did a great job of letting me get in the flow and make plays.”
Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager wasn’t surprised that Wright would credit others because he once described Wright as having a “servant heart.”
“They don’t make many like him,” Yeager said. “He’s a warrior. He’s the ultimate leader. The kids would follow him off a cliff.
“He was the cornerstone of our defense. The thing about him is he was always aware of how the other guys were performing. He was a catalyst for making guys better.”
Not only that, but Wright had a knack for being around the football.
“He’s got an incredibly high football aptitude and he’s an incredible competitor,” Yeager said. “He wills himself to get to the ball.”
Wright won’t be making any tackles at the next level. A versatile baseball player who has played first base, catcher and outfield, Wright signed a baseball scholarship with Pearl River Community College.
“I love both sports, but I think baseball offers a better path for me,” said Wright, who hopes to join the Mountain Brook baseball team during the first month of the season after he recovers from his broken leg.
All-OTM Defense Roster
Wright heads the 2022 All-OTM Defense. Spartans safety Mac Palmer also made the team after recording more than 60 tackles and two interceptions.
Hoover, which reached the Class 7A semifinals, led the defensive team with four players: defensive end Jordan Norman (68 tackles and 10 sacks), defensive tackle Andrew Parrish, linebacker Bradley Shaw (106 tackles with 15 TFLs and five sacks) and safety D.J. Estes (71 tackles, 15 TFLs and six sacks).
Vestavia Hills, Homewood and Oak Mountain all had two players selected.
Lineman Jordan Ross (two defensive touchdowns and 16 TFLs) and defensive back Grant Downey (8 interceptions) represent the Rebels; linebacker Talton Thomas (130 tackles with 16 TFLs) and defensive back Clay Burdeshaw (108 tackles and 2 interceptions) represent the Patriots; and lineman Emmanuel Waller and linebacker Carter Lehman represent the Eagles.
Rounding out the defense are Spain Park lineman Caldwell Bussey (5.5 sacks and 46 tackles) and John Carroll Catholic defensive back Zach Archer.
Versatile Oak Mountain senior Garrett Murphy was tabbed as the punter after averaging more than 41.0 yards per punt.
